The seventeenth season of American Idol premiered on March 3, 2019 on the ABC television network. It is the show's second season to air on ABC. Ryan Seacrest continues his role as the show's host, while Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie returned for their second season as judges. Bobby Bones returned as the in-house mentor, and acted as guest host for the taped April 8, 2019 episode. Laine Hardy from Livingston, Louisiana won the season on May 19, 2019, while Alejandro Aranda was the runner-up, and Madison VanDerburg finished in third place. Laine Hardy - Winner American Idol 2019 Season 17
Alejandro Aranda - Runner-up American Idol 2019 Season 17
American Idol announced in June 2018 that 20 cities would be visited by the Idol bus, beginning with Orlando, Florida and San Diego, California on August 25. Auditions may also be submitted on the official website, or on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok. During the 2018 CMA Awards, three contestants who didn't enter the competition and didn't audition initially, were given a chance to enter the competition. The contestants were Cameron Lenz, Natalee Spiroff, and Megan Woods. The winner of that vote was revealed to be Megan Woods on Good Morning America on November 16, 2018. However, Megan Woods wasn't shown in any episode.
